Kursk: Russia’s pivotal WWII victory – Chuck Stephens
Key topics:
- Russia's overlooked role in defeating Nazi Germany
- The Battle of Kursk: WWII's largest tank battle
- How war reshaped Eastern Europe's power dynamics
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By Chuck Stephens*
How well do you know your military history of Eastern Europe?
As much as we may dislike Vladimir Putin for subverting Democracy and invading Ukrania, we should not write off Russia altogether. Today they are the enemy, but during World War II they were indispensable allies.
Long before Hitler's invasion of Russia, or for that matter before Napoleon's invasion of Russia, both from the west, Genghis Khan's grandson Batu Khan invaded – from the east. His grandfather had conquered much of Asia and approached the fringes of Europe. But he left it to his sons and grandsons to keep expanding – in 1240 they arrived at Kyiv.
He decimated Kyiv, the capital at that time of Kievan Rus. It was the first east Slavic state. Yes, Rus is a culture from which the word Russia derives. It started in Kyiv, which the Mongols sacked and burned. The Rus culture took 200 years to recover, and when it re-emerged, its hub was in Moscow, not Kyiv. Before the invasion of Mongol forces during the 13th century, Moscow had been only a small trading outpost in the principality of Vladimir-Suzdal in Kievan Rus.
Eighteen years later, in 1258, another grandson of the great Khan (Hulagu) conquered Bagdad. As the saying goes "the fruit never falls far from the tree". These were warlords.
Napoleon's intrusion into Russia was less successful. Mother Russia can use winter as a weapon.
Then came Hitler's attempt. In the West, we tend to remember Pearl Harbour, D-Day and Iwajima as the main milestones of World War II. But to the Russians, the turning point of the war came at Kursk. It was the biggest tank battle in history, in 1943.
Back in 1941, Hitler had invaded. To defend Moscow, over 100,000 of General Zhukov's 400,000 fighters fell. But they prevailed and pushed the Nazis 200 kilometers back.
After failing to take Moscow, the Nazis turned on Stalingrad (i.e. St Petersburg). This time General Zhukov fielded over one million fighters. It was do or die. The average life expectancy of recruits in this battle was little over 24 hours. On bother sides combined, around one million fighters fell. Have we forgotten the price that Mother Russia paid to stop Nazi aggression?
Then came the battle of Kursk, the turning point of World War II. Kursk is in Russia, roughly midway between Moscow and Kyiv, not far from the Ukraine border. That battle was monumental, involving about 6000 tanks, two million troops and 4000 aircraft in all. Russia prevailed, thanks largely to the genius of General Zhukov and the superiority of the Soviet T-34 tanks. Do you remember the general's name? Perhaps the UK's General Montgomery or the USA's General Eisenhower are better remembered in the West. But the best general of World War II was Georgy Zhukov. Hands down.
Do you remember that Russia's counteroffensive began at Kursk and crossed Easter Europe entering Germany from the east, even into Berlin?
Zhukov was accused more than once by both Stalin and Krushchev of "Bonapartism". He was just too popular at the time and it worried his bosses. But let's give credit where credit is due, in spite of our biases. Marshal Zhukov is undoubtedly the brightest star in the constellation of World War II generals. I for one am glad that he was one of our allies, not one of our enemies.
Furthermore, the Cold War that left World War II somewhat unresolved for almost 50 years meant that in the West, the heroes are British and American. So the memory of Georgy Zhukov faded. But at the time, he was the man of the hour.
The superior Soviet T-34 tank has been mentioned. These were designed by Mikhail Koshkin, the lead designer at the locomotive factory in Kharkov, Ukraine (the Russian transliteration of Kharkiv). From the time Germany invaded in 1941 until the massive battle of Kursk, this factor gave Russia an edge. A weapon designed in the Ukraine saved Russia and led on to the defeat of Hitler. It seems ironic in the world of 2025, when Russia and Ukrainia, two historic centres of Rus culture, are busy making war. With one another. Driven by two dictators who have both diminished Democracy.
War is crazy. Anyone who has read Catch-22 knows that it is insane. Totally bonkers.
Picasso's most famous work is Guernica. It was completed by the best painter ever in the aftermath of the horrific bombing of the Spanish town of that name, in 1937. This was during the brutal Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939). Guernica was the ancient capital of the fiercely independent Basques. It was a Republican stronghold during that conflict, and thus a target for bombing by the Axis of Evil – Germany and Italy. On 26 April, 1937 there were around 7000 people in Guernica, a higher-than-usual number because Mondays were market days. At around 4:40 p.m., bombs began falling. Guernica had no air defenses and the Republicans had no planes. It was a firestorm.
More than 1000 people died and only 1 percent of the town's building were left standing. At age 56, Picasso was already working on an anti-war mural painting in Paris. He decided to name it after this Spanish incident.
War is hell. Names like Pablo Picasso, Montgomery and Dwight Eisenhower are well remembered in the West. Places like Guernica are commemorated in our art and culture. But names like Georgy Zhukov have faded by comparison, and places like Kursk and Kharkov mean little to us. Russia is now our sworn enemy not our ally any more. But we are remiss, lest we forget the historical record.
Kharkiv is once again in the current events of 2025. The Russians have just snafued it. The Ukranian fighters had a narrow escape, but managed to exit more or less unscathed.
Pablo Picasso was right. Even though Guernica as a tiny episode in what would follow in Europe over the next decades, it was symbolic.
The forum of nations at the U.N. was supposed to be the mechanism to end wars. FDR saw no purpose in entering World War II other than to find a way to prevent future wars. But the U.N. has become so corrupt and biased that it can't seem to serve that purpose. It needs heavy doses of DOGE treatment. Conflicts are all over the place – from eastern Congo to the Sudan, to Ethiopia, to Yemen, to Gaza, to Lebanon, and to the killing fields of the Ukraine.
The Sino-Indian war ended in 1963, in a stalemate. The concurrent events in Cuba and the USA at the very same time meant that this ceasefire was largely overlooked. Mao ruled China and Nehru ruled India. Mao hated Nehru, but not as much as Nehru hated Mao. A border war broke out in mountainous areas to the north of India after China swallowed Tibet. In the end, they agreed to "battlefield borders". Not based on any logic or criteria other than STOP THE FIGHTING. That is one way to end a war – to stop the allegations and innuendo and to give peace a chance. Those borders are still holding 62 years later. It was not a bad idea.
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*Chuck Stephens: Desmond Tutu Centre for Leadership